Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 Gameplay Review

The game features a simulation of 23 major and minor hockey leagues from around the world, using opening day or recent rosters from the current season. You can also start a historic NHL season or customize a league. The interface has some inconsistencies, as the same action can be performed in some screens but not others. Simulating the entire world also takes a significant amount of time for each day, making the most developed mode almost unplayable. There is also no interaction during bland games that feature significant pauses every time something is added to the text play-by-play. The AI managers are passable and the simulation does produce plausible results. Franchise Hockey Manager may be a quality product in a couple of years, but this first iteration can't be recommended.